The Life of the Rejected: Bramblepelt
by mm me me big boy
Summary: Bramblekit was not born disabled, contrary to popular belief. No, it was more just a deal with the devil, the use of her legs for her not so much better life. But mercy, you say? It is better than not having a life at all, right? Yes, but revenge is much sweeter. Rated T for mild language and harsh situations.
1. Chapter 1

**_The Life of the Rejected_**

 ** _This story is about the life of a deformed villain named Bramblepelt. But never judge a book by its cover. You would be surprised if you knew the horrid life of Bramblepelt…._**

 **Chapter 1**

My name is Bramblepelt. I'm the kit of Whiteash and Nightfur. I have a story to tell that most don't know and that's why they judge me too quickly as a ruthless, evil cat. But I did have reasons for my malicious madness at least until I figured out what they were doing to me…Here, let me tell you this story and see if you can judge me then.

I was born one cold newleaf and my parents were very worried about me. Whiteash had only given birth to one kit and the medicine cat thought I would be deformed and dead before the sun rose the next morning. So, they waited. But I didn't die. Instead my legs lost feeling as if it was the cost for my life. I couldn't walk, run or play with the other kits.

At first, the other kits had no idea I was different and neither did I. Ah, blissful ignorance, pouring into my brain everlasting….Until I got out of my nest, away from warmth and comfort, away from the beautiful thought… _I was the same_. When I fell out of my nest, stiff as a branch, the other kits laughed and thought I was playing with them. I said the most dreadful words of my life. They give me a sour taste in my mouth to this day…

 ** _"_** ** _I can't walk."_**

Dark, mean cackling, Larkkit and Dustkit's oblivion to the fact I was hurt, scared, and confused. The other kits agreeing that I was just some sick mistake and that if I couldn't play with them, I was a lost cause. It was a living hell for me. It angered me, saddened me, and sent me on a rampage of emotions that made my head spin. That day, I found a friend, Crowkit, blind and helpless, as well. We took miserable steps together for a while and I'll never forget him as a valuable companion…

Finally, the time came for us to become apprentices. This was only for Crowkit and me because after all, their mothers wouldn't allow us, "the sickly ones" to become apprentices next to their precious babies. So, now we came forward, me huffing and puffing from the effort of hauling my legless self to the foot of the ledge, Crowkit leaning precariously forward as if he was about to fall over. I steadied him with my shoulder and that day, I felt a strange zap as if something had bound our destinies together. But it was a warm feeling and I disregarded it later as static.

Runningstar, the legendary leader of ThunderClan spoke kind words to both of us after the ceremony and wished us great fortune in our training, a tradition started by the great leader Squirrelstar after Bramblestar killed himself when his apprentice thought he was hopeless and hanged himself. I never could understand that tale. It was too dark and scary for most kits but I guess the elders told me this story to frighten me to death. They never approved of me and I think of this as another occasion of bigotry in that horrid Clan.

Crowpaw and I were finally apprentices. But the next day, there came a shock, a deep shock that could leave some cats dead.

 **A/N: This is a remake of my older story, Life of the Rejected: Bramblepelt. I will be putting Life of the Rejected: Hawkstar on hold for this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, Internet, Spirit of the Brook here. I probably should've left a link to my old account so you guys could read the old story, but no, here I am, creating a remake, probably gonna take half the time of the original, just gonna say. All I'm going to do is revise, add a few extra details and that's it. Then, I will move on with Hawkstar, adding revised comments to the chapters till the chapter I stopped on. Thanks to Pebble for giving the first review! I really appreciate it.**

 **On to the chapter!**

The next morning began as any other morning, typical, melodramatic as Larkpaw broke it off with some random tom (why would I give a rat's tail, honestly?), the apprentices barely paying attention but sneering at us when they could. I wasn't hurt or offended; honestly, I didn't much care. They had pummeled against my nerves for a long while and I honestly wouldn't care if one of them had the daring to push me off a cliff which they probably didn't.

So, we got up, me slightly guiding Crowpaw with my tail out of the apprentices' den (he had never been in there before) and there were our mentors, Crystalfoot and Mapleflare who sat with their tails curled around their paws, patiently waiting for us. Well, Crystalfoot was; Mapleflare looked quite impatient, shuffling her paws and muttering something about blasted apprentices.

"Bramblepaw," Crystalfoot started when she saw Crowpaw and me walking together. "I'm going to show you the territory with Mapleflare and Crowpaw today. We're going to be walking a long distance. Are you sure you'll be okay?" Her beautiful blue eyes pooled with deep concern; that she-cat was like a mother figure to me since Whiteash didn't exactly love me, her disabled daughter. I was touched but didn't say anything as I nodded. I tended to be like that, shy and silent.

"Very well," Mapleflare meowed, eager to start. "We shall go at once." I've always gotten the feeling that the tortoiseshell she-cat thought she was superior to everyone else and scornful. I think that she might've taken the position of leader after…Well, let's not go into deep detail. Ah, but I respected her then nonetheless.

We all ran out of camp, led by Mapleflare the second Timberheart's announcements were finished, me huffing in the back and Crowpaw stumbling around the edges of the forest path. Despite my obvious disability, I loved ThunderClan territory immediately. Leaves and brambles…Oh, it just all seemed perfect, so perfect, like an unblemished dream….

But of course, you have to wake up from a dream to get back into reality. And that was exactly what happened, like a smack in the face. Crowpaw and I were having the times of our lives, jumping at dead leaves and batting them at each other, even though to be fair, I was letting Crowpaw win from some unknown sympathy in my heart. I really liked him. He was nice, fair, and kind and didn't judge me for my physical disabilities. In turn, I didn't judge him. He was also quite handsome. He had a shiny, sleek black coat but in the mornings, he always had little tufts sticking up. But his amber eyes, his amber eyes were what drew me really in. They were always attentive and alert, those eyes, clear, never clouded over like some cats say blind cats look like. He wasn't like that at all. Those eyes were the part of him that got my young heart beating fast.

I think it was safe to say I had a little crush on him. But all crushes put aside, I had just flicked a huge pawful of leaves into his face, leaving him snorting and twitching in laughter in the odd, little way he did when he was really amused when I heard a low hiss tinged with venom from the other side of the gorge. I turned my head around, shocked from my play and saw a young grey warrior with oily fur and a wicked, teasing grin on his face standing on the bank. He looked snooty and very pleased with himself and I was wondering why this was so. So, I strained my ears until I could catch what he was saying, "…ThunderClan foxhearts, probably don't even have enough courage to fight a mouse!" I was outraged. Why would this nasty cat say such a thing about my Clan? I wanted to say something insulting right back but then remembered that Crystalfoot probably wouldn't be too pleased if I got into a fight on my first day as an apprentice.

Luckily, Mapleflare took care of the insult for me. "Oh, yeah, well, I bet your most senior warriors are just fat, old kittypets lounging around in the sunlight," she spat back across the gorge, her fur bristling and her eyes alive with fire. "I think I saw one of them at Twolegplace." Then a lot of things happened very quickly and almost all at once. The RiverClan warrior took a delicate leap over the small gap spanning the gorge and got right up in Mapleflare's face, probably giving another lame comeback. Crystalfoot, very alarmed at the presence of an enemy warrior in her territory, as any respectable cat should be, calmly stepped forward and asked the warrior to get off her territory but with an edge to her voice so he would know she was being serious. I would know; I made mental notes through the entirety of this. While she did this, she shot a severe look at Mapleflare, who cowered under her glare.

The warrior ignored Crystalfoot's attempt at peace and instead shoved his nasty face into mine. I tried to take a step back, but he just moved forward every time I did so. His fish-breath rolled over me in waves and I could now see up close the water trickling into his sharp dark brown eyes and the grease specks around his mouth. "Now, who's this?" he growled in his horrible voice, like rock against rock. "Another lame apprentice to fight for ThunderClan?"

I gulped, not sure what to say and just stared at my paws, my front paws that carried me everywhere. "Hey, you get away from her!" Crowpaw hissed bravely, bumping into the young warrior as he couldn't see where he was going. "Oh, there's another one of you, too," he snickered, turning to face my ebony black friend. My heart dropped into my stomach. No way was he going to fight a couple of disabled apprentices. So, I clipped him across the ear without thinking. He turned around, rage glowing in his eyes then it faded, turning instead into mocking amusement.

"Aww, sweet," he snickered. "Maybe you two will mate and make a disgusting, crippled, blind baby!" He spat out the last three words and turned away just to crash into Crystalfoot who sat, looming above him, disdain and rage mixed with disgust burning in her gaze. "Get the _hell_ outta our territory," she growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh, yeah, and miss the opportunity to kill these stupid apprentices?" he hissed back boldly. "Come on, Crystal, baby, I know as well as you do that Runningstar bribed you into taking this lame excuse for an apprentice." His expression was softening as he continued to talk, his glittering, cruel eyes turning into loving, warm eyes that held very convincing, but sickening compassion for Crystalfoot. "Come on, Crystal, baby, we could run away and be alone together. You don't need to stay with these freaks." For one fleeting and frightening heartbeat, I thought that Crystalfoot was going to accept this warrior's offer. But then she stiffened and her gaze turned cold once again. She took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "You disgust me, Swiftfang," she muttered, very low but just loud enough that I could hear her. "Using your charming on another cat with obviously the same mark….you're ridiculous."

Swiftfang gave an easy, relaxed smile. "You know that's why you love me, baby," he said, his voice low. He curled his tail on her cheek. "A shame we couldn't just run away…"  
"No, Swiftfang," Crystalfoot said, louder now. "I'm not going to accept your offer and I would expect you to not do this with-"Her words were interrupted by a loud yowl from the other side of the gorge. A ginger tom stood on the bank, tail stuck straight out with anger. "Swiftfang, what the heck do you think you're doing on rival territory?" he yelled. "You're breaking the warrior code, can't you tell?"

Swiftfang yowled back, "Just teaching these ThunderClan vermin a lesson!" The ginger tom rolled his eyes, obviously fed up with the grey tom's excuses. "I think the warriors have received your 'lesson' well, alright! For StarClan's sake, one of their apprentices has crippled legs! Even though ThunderClan is a bunch of foxhearts doesn't mean you can just march onto their territory and start charming the she-cats!" Swiftfang went red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Strikeheart," he murmured under his breath. But the tom only continued ranting about the warrior code and honor and relations with cats from other Clans. Eventually, Swiftfang hopped over the gorge but he wasn't done yet. After he had left our territory, we left, too with some suspicions brewing in our heads. I discussed it with Crowpaw on the way back to the camp.

"So, do you think Crystalfoot is a part of a cult or something?" Crowpaw asked me. "Why would you think that?" I replied. He gave me a deadpan look. "You know, all that talk about marks and charming," he explained. I nodded. The exchange between Crystalfoot and Swiftfang was definitely not something I was forgetting soon, but right now, I wasn't really concerned about it. The real thing I was worried about was Swiftfang's death threat right before he started "charming" Crystalfoot.

"He tried to kill us!" I exclaimed, filled with fury at the thought of that stupid, weird, greasy tom. Crowpaw nodded grimly. Suddenly, his expression brightened. "Maybe, we can tell Runningstar about it so we can have our first battle early!" he proposed. Unfortunately, I didn't think this was such a good idea at the time. "Are you stupid?" I replied, shaking my head. "We can't just start a war! That'd kill a lot of innocent cats and besides, battle isn't that thrilling from what I've heard from Nightfur."  
"Nightfur, Shmightfur," Crowpaw mocked. "You know your father just tells you all those scary stories because he didn't want to have a crippled daughter." That had struck a nerve in me. I looked off to the side and stayed quiet after that and I think Crowpaw knew and was sorry about it later because I kept on seeing him exchange nervous, guilty looks at me and then going back to staring at his paws or straight ahead.

When we finally arrived at the camp entrance, my front paws were aching and scraped up from the stones near the gorge and I longed to just go back into my nest in the nursery and cry it out, but then I remembered that I was in the apprentice's den. Just as we arrived, a loud shriek of warning cut through the air stressed and cut off. Crystalfoot and Mapleflare glanced at each other and they both hurried through the entrance. Suddenly interested, I dragged myself right after them, not bothering to wait for Crowpaw or guide him, who probably still had no idea that everyone had left him.

It was RiverClan again. Their leader, an elegant misty grey she-cat with white paws and tail-tip was talking to Runningstar in a heated discussion. Several times, I saw one or the other stand up, lash their tail in defiance, snap something then settle back down. I learned from a couple of older apprentices hanging around that apparently, the RiverClan leader was insisting that ThunderClan stole prey from their territory and she was offering a deal where if Runningstar said his Clan was never going to steal prey after that, they wouldn't attack the next morning. But if he didn't…..

"Have we predicted the future or what?" Crowpaw asked me, nearly bouncing off the walls in excitement. "I told you a battle was going to happen soon!" I didn't reply; I was still bothered by the comment he had made about me being an unwanted daughter. Crowpaw frowned when he saw my stoic expression and left shortly afterward. Later, I wished I had said something because he brooded for an entire moon after that. But this was no matter to be excited about; he should've known that.

Eventually, I figured out that Runningstar had not accepted the deal (because "we never stole the prey from RiverClan and I can't accept it if Dawnstar says we did it beforehand" which I thought was a pretty stupid reason) and when I curled up to sleep, I couldn't help but think, _Did Dawnstar really say she would attack tomorrow? But when? As we sleep? At dawn? At noon? How much trouble would they go through for just 'keeping our hunting grounds'?_

 **R &R, guys! ;D**

 **Question of the Day: What is your favorite character from this story so far?**

 **Love you all,**

 **Brooke**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, guys, Brookie here back with another chapter from Life of the Rejected: Bramblepelt! So, I'll probably be updating every two days though I probably won't stick to that schedule. Oh, well, melt your headaches, call it home, here's a new chapter whether you like it or not. No new reviews yet, but oh whale ;D**

 **Allegiances**

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader Runningstar-** lean tabby tom with amber eyes

 **Deputy Timberheart-** thick-furred dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

 **Medicine Cat Mothwind-** dark tortoiseshell she-cat with light blue eyes

 **Warriors**

 **Crystalfoot-** gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

 **Apprentice, Bramblepaw**

 **Mapleflare-** tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

 **Apprentice, Crowpaw**

 **Blossomstripe-** dark ginger tabby she-cat with very pale green eyes

 **Duststorm-** young tan tabby tom with green eyes

 **Larkpetal-** young pale grey she-cat with light blue eyes

 **Owlfeather-** handsome golden tabby tom with amber eyes

 **Apprentice, Morningpaw**

 **Poppyfall-** tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes

 **Apprentice, Jaypaw**

 **Darkbreeze-** grey tabby tom with amber eyes and white paws

 **Whiteash-** white she-cat with black stripes and dark green eyes

 **Nightfur-** black tom with blue eyes

 **Apprentices**

 **Crowpaw-** blind black-furred tom with clear amber eyes

 **Bramblepaw-** light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes, paralyzed hind legs

 **Jaypaw-** light blue grey tabby with blue eyes

 **Morningpaw-** scornful pale golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes

 **Queens**

 **Streamfern-** stone grey she-cat with bright green eyes, expecting Darkbreeze's kits

 **Ally-** black she-cat with russet belly and paws and blue eyes, mother to Forestkit, Mountainkit, Violetkit, and Badgerkit

 **Elders**

 **Brindlewish-** golden tabby she-cat with light brown underbelly and green eyes

 **Hollyfire-** black she-cat with ginger chest and muzzle, has a permanently scarred hind leg from where hit rock when was a kit

 **Tallthorn-** soot grey tom with blue eyes and a ragged ear

The night, I had troubling dreams. A voice hissed, rang in my ears, constantly chanting, " _Your father doesn't want you for your crippled leg, your father doesn't want you for your crippled leg."_ I was offended and angry. I wanted to hurt whoever mocked me which was an odd feeling. " _Do something, do something, do something then,"_ the demon voices whispered back to my thoughts, brushing past me like water, gathering into a tighter and tighter circle. I shook my head defiantly. "I've got to protect my Clan!" I yelled back, though it came out as a choked scream.

The demons started laughing again and leaped at me all at once. I stumbled back and felt my paw slip on stone. I had been trapped! Panic coursed through my entire body, filling me with rage and desperation. But I was already slipping. My entire lower half sank into whatever was under me and I screamed out in pain. It was acid, bubbling at my skin, dissolving my fur and bones, eating away at me. I flailed around frantically, but only succeeded in splashing more acid onto my skin. So, I kept on screaming. The frothing acid continued to tear at me and when finally the acid closed over my head, I could already hear the faint voices of murmuring spirits. My vision went black and for a moment, I was stuck there.

Everything was silent, nothing. It wasn't peaceful or violent. It was nothing. Then, suddenly, loud yowls of war cry split through the darkness and my vision turned grey. I wrinkled my nose. What was that smell? Fish? Then all of a sudden, my brain pieced it together. Fish, grey, and the weird feeling of a stick tracing across my skin. I shoved back from the grey mass and looked up into the face of none other than Swiftfang. He grinned, revealing a horrific scratch on his mouth that had cut into his gums and teeth. That was no border trouble scratching, I noted. Then, on another note, I realized what had felt like a stick across my skin was actually Swiftfang sinking his claws into my neck.

I hauled myself back out of my nest quickly though my front paws were still a bit asleep and hissed in pain as his claws dragged across my neck and left a nick. "Get away from me, you pig!" I snarled, hoping I sounded threatening. Swiftfang just quietly laughed and left at the sound of another warrior yowling. I stood, breathless; I wasn't exactly sure of what had just happened. So, I peeked out of the entrance to the apprentices' den and saw battle, battle so serious it could've been a war. I looked back at Crowpaw, wondering if he was awake, but he was still in his nest, his legs thrashing around and muttering in his sleep all the while hearing the torturous yowls of fury, terror, and pain.

"Bramblepaw, what are you doing out?" Crystalfoot's urgent voice reached my ears and before I could stop her, my mentor lifted me by the scruff of my neck and carried me all the way to the nursery. She set me down next to Ally's nest and looked at me with serious blue eyes. She was badly bleeding from a scratch that had come close to her heart and I was concerned for her, but she just told me to stay there and not go out into the fray of the battle, even if I heard anyone get seriously hurt.

I just nodded. And so she dived out of the nursery back into the war. I looked at the newborn kits and wished I could be like them, helpless, asleep, and innocent, oblivious to the war crashing outside their home. I stayed up for a while, looking at both the battle and the kits but then I decided I was tired and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

When I woke up again, I could hear voices, not demon voices, but normal voices. Everything was quiet as the yowls had stopped, which I assumed meant the bloodshed had stopped. I relaxed and was about to pad out of the nursery to confront the voices when I paused. The scent of blood and fear scent tinged the air. The air seemed to crackle with tension. All went silent, everything. Nobody dared to breathe. _SCREEEEEEEEE!_ I dropped to the ground; my front knees had buckled. It had been my mother that had given that last, agonizing screech, one I recognized very clearly as a dying one.

Black spots danced in and out of my vision, but I managed to haul myself up and back to the deeper parts of the nursery where Crystalfoot had left me. But I stayed close by, to hear the whispers as they had started up again. "How am I supposed to tell her this?" I heard Crystalfoot, panicky and a bit louder than the others ask. "Just tell her in the most direct but gentle way possible," a male voice said, comforting and reassuring, one that I thought was Runningstar's.

I heard a sigh of guilt then Crystalfoot's eyes like twin blue moons in the nursery entrance appeared in the velvety darkness of the entrance. I tried to tuck my head in between my paws quickly so that she would think I was asleep, but I guess she saw me as she padded right over to where I was. "Bramblepaw?" she said hesitantly. "Yes," I replied and immediately cringed at how indifferent and flat my voice sounded. "Bramblepaw, I need to tell you something that might be hard to…comprehend," she said, her gaze troubled.

"What is it?" I whispered quietly and softly, hoping to make up for my tone earlier. "Well…Bramblepaw, your moth-I mean Whiteash is dead." I paused for a moment, letting the silence stretch out until it was unbearable.

"I know, thanks for doing it for me."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, guys, Brookie here with another chapter of Life of the Rejected: Bramblepelt! Yey, a review!**

 **Pikawarriorcat (Guest): Thanks! :D Glad ya like it. Yeah, I think, looking back on this story (since I am rewriting this), Crowpaw is probably my favorite character.**

For the next few moons, I just grieved. I secluded myself more than I had ever done so and barely talked to Crowpaw. I could tell he was concerned about me though he was more subtle than he had been in times past. The few bits of care I had had from my parents were gone and Crystalfoot was extremely awkward due to the circumstances on that fateful night.

I also felt a whole lot more restless than usual, angry and heated. I just wanted to jump up out of my nest in the mornings and claw someone's face off when something or someone disturbed my sleep. Who, most of the time was Morningpaw. Ah, Morningpaw, she was never liked by me, never liked by anyone, in fact. She was snobby, rude, and couldn't handle the fact that her mother was dead. So, she acted like an emotional wreck in front of every cat she met…..at first. After the typical meeting, greeting, and getting to know the cat, she would insult them to their faces and just make sure that every cat's fur was rubbed the wrong way. She especially loved to do it to me, taunting me that I would always be the less preferred kit. However, I knew she was wrong as Nightfur was the only one who favored her. I was actually quite liked now, if only by the warriors. But still, she ranted on and on about how perfect she was and then would proceed to point out everyone's flaws.

One morning, a morning where I was feeling particularly heated and generally angry at the world, she challenged me to a duel. And I accepted. I know it was wrong. I should've been humble, but no, I'm a cat with problems of my own and that day, my problem was pride. I crouched down, letting my front paws shuffle deep into the leaves and find the cool, muddy earth underneath. I tensed, letting power build up in my legs. Morningpaw was right across from me, her light blue eyes glowing in stupid ignorance, anger, and….I guess you could call it vengeance, though not nearly as serious. You see, there's an important fact to know, I was two moons younger than her and technically her half-sister yet I knew so much more than her. I could hunt successfully and fight pretty well and all Morningpaw could do was hunt a few measly mice and clean out the elders' den. I narrowed my eyes in calculation, trying to figure out what my rival was going for and couldn't help but smirk at the sight of how unbalanced the light golden apprentice was. She was so inexperienced, so foolish.

She didn't stand a chance.

As soon as I yelled, "Go!" I sprang forward with all the power of my front legs, tunneling underneath Morningpaw's belly and raked my paws all up the underside of her stomach. I lifted my shoulders with some effort and knocked her off balance. Twisting around, I pinned my front paws to her shoulders and held her down as she fell. I smirked. "What was that you were bragging about?" I whispered, quite cockily into her ear. I could feel her muscles tensing as she struggled and I could see her pupils going down to slits in her iris with her rage. She finally relaxed and gritted her teeth. "You'll pay for this, asshole," she hissed under her breath. Satisfied, I was about to leap off and let Morningpaw walk off in her defeat when the she-cat screeched with surely all of the force of her lungs, "HELP! Bramblepaw's unsheathing her claws on me!"

Like a spirit, Owlfeather, Morningpaw's mentor materialized out of nowhere. "Get off of her now," he sternly commanded me. I submitted, shocked that I had even unsheathed my claws. I checked my paws. My claws didn't look bloody. I looked up. Morningpaw was acting injured whilst arguing with Owlfeather that she swore that Bramblepaw had unsheathed her claws. "But look," she exclaimed, her big blue eyes wide in mock innocence. "I have blood on my back."

She showed off her shoulder, which was in fact covered in drops of red liquid. "Well, that does look like blood," Owlfeather observed slowly and skeptically, his amber eyes narrowed as he investigated Morningpaw's shoulder. He turned his eyes on me next. "Bramblepaw, did you unsheathe your claws?" he asked me. I was surprised that he would ask me for my validity rather than just believe Morningpaw. After all, she did talk trash about others, but so far, she had never lied. I slowly shook my head, unable to say anything.

"Hold on, do I smell….cherry juice?" Owlfeather asked, his nostrils flaring. He turned to sniff Morningpaw's shoulder and his eyes widened in anger. "Morningpaw, that's not blood, that's just cherry juice," he growled, looking at his apprentice sternly.

"Well, I thought-"Morningpaw started to protest.

"No, Morningpaw, I don't want to hear it," Owlfeather reprimanded her, leaving her shocked and very surly. "Go pick the ticks out of the elders' fur, young she-cat. You'll be doing it for three moons." At this point, I was shocked. That was a harsh predicament because Morningpaw's ceremony would've surely come up in less than a moon from now if she hadn't done that. Either way, I was grateful for Owlfeather's help in deducting the problem. The golden apprentice sulkily stalked away to camp, giving me a murderous glare like it was my fault.

"Honestly, I don't know how her father copes with her," he sighed. Then he turned to me. "Anyways, I saw you fight with Morningpaw today. You're really good…even with a tragically terrible opponent." He smiled after that comment. "I think I'm going to tell Runningstar to consider naming you a warrior tomorrow evening." My eyes widened. Hadn't Owlfeather despised me when I was an apprentice? He had been part of Larkpetal and Duststorm's crowd and had teased me along with the rest. Did he…like me? I shook my head internally. I was looking too much into this situation. He had just recognized my effort of fighting. _Calm yourself,_ I scolded internally.

In all these thoughts, I realized I had forgotten to show respect so I quickly bowed my head and walked off to camp. I felt warm and fuzzy inside, proud of myself. Was I going to succeed after all? Then, like a thundercloud, the thought of Nightfur not loving me because my disability drifted across my pride and overshadowed it. The anger appeared, haunting, reaching into my soul like a dark claw. I bitterly stomped my way into the apprentices' den and settled down to sleep.

Love and anger were mixing to create a venomous feeling in my chest. My feelings for Owlfeather, my feelings for Morningpaw. It hurt, it warmed. It was eating me from the inside out like some kind of inner acid. I couldn't sleep easy, but when I did, I had nightmares. Not the normal nightmares, of demons chanting my lack of use, the spiritual kind. The worst kind.

 **Question of the Day: Which do you ship more, BramblepawxOwlfeather or BramblepawxCrowpaw?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Welcome back to Life of the Rejected: Bramblepelt! I've got a lovely review today so yey!**

 **Pikawarriorcat: Sometimes, I can't decide on whom to ship. I mean, personally, I think Crowpaw is the cutest little dorky thing but Owlfeather's handsome and pretty nice so…yeh. First world problems xD**

I woke up at dawn. For some reason, I felt refreshed despite the nightmares that had been running through my head. I stretched out my front legs and felt warmth tingling from head to toe. It was weird; I hadn't felt this good since before I had opened my eyes. I dragged myself out from my nest and pushed through the entrance of the den to see Crystalfoot with a warm smile on her face. It looked like she had forgotten that weird night, but I hadn't… "Ready for your last day as an apprentice?" she asked brightly, leaning down to lick my forehead. I only glanced coldly at her and it seemed like she had realized what she had just done.

"Um, so you want to go on the dawn patrol with Owlfeather, Poppyfall, and I?" she asked awkwardly. I nodded and padded over to where the two warriors stood, closely followed by Crystalfoot. Owlfeather immediately nudged my shoulder and exclaimed with a sparkle in his eye, "Hey, I can't wait for you to join me in the warriors' den!"

I only mumbled, "Yeah, I can't wait" and turned away, instead focusing on my paws. I could feel him tensing beside me as he realized how awkward he had made things. I guess I wasn't being fair then but it was weird how bright and cheery everyone was feeling when I myself was all messed up inside. I should've been feeling bad, but I wasn't. And neither was anyone else. To make it more complicated, I couldn't help but feel as if I was betraying Crowpaw by growing close to Owlfeather, which didn't even make sense considering I wasn't even close to Crowpaw in that way. Maybe neither liked me at all.

"I'm so sorry about Morningpaw yesterday," he said, brushing his pelt against mine. Nope, it was clear, he was hitting on me. And I felt good about it. But I didn't respond. He shifted his paws uncomfortably. "She's just stubborn, you know. Some cats are just like that," he continued, still determined to flirt.

"Yeah," I replied softly. "She held a grudge on me because she couldn't do anything better." I looked up at him and batted my eyes. "I'm sorry, was that too far?" I added sweetly. I could feel Owlfeather growing hot. "Oh, um, no," he stuttered. "It's fine. I don't like her, either."

We were silent as we passed by the gorge. The tension had calmed down after our sore defeat at the battle in our camp. After the battle, Runningstar had promised Dawnstar that his Clan would never steal more of their prey. He then proclaimed to his Clan that the "battle was not over yet and ThunderClan was as powerful as ever". "Arrogant, pathetic idiot," I murmured as I gazed down into the depths of the stone gorge. Why was he ever considered legendary? Probably because of being a sore loser and insisting that he won every battle in history.

I sighed as we padded on to the WindClan border and made our mark. We returned to camp and I didn't realize: Owlfeather and I were still brushing pelts. As soon as I entered camp, I saw Crowpaw waiting at the apprentices' den. His gaze brightened as he caught the scent of the patrol returning and began to rush toward me. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. His smile dropped and his gaze became dull. I felt my heart catch in my throat. He had smelled me and Owlfeather close together, I just knew it. I yanked away from Owlfeather's side and, ignoring his surprised look, staggered into the apprentices' den after Crowpaw. He was in his nest, his side heaving and his eyes wide open as he gazed blankly at the walls of the den.

"Crowpaw, what-"I started but I was cut off. "Say all you want, but I know you love him," he said coldly, his voice heavy like stones. "Don't deny it." With that, he spun around and marched off, getting his paw caught on a bramble thorn in the process. He got right back up and, without looking back, he growled, "Now it's time for our warrior ceremony." I was mildly surprised. I guessed Owlfeather had mentioned Crowpaw to Runningstar to him, too. I followed him, somewhat awkwardly.

"Crowpaw, Bramblepaw, come forward," Runningstar said. He was sitting on the High Rock, having called forward the Clan already. I looked up, trying to ignore the presence of Crowpaw sitting like a rock next to me, radiating no warmth. I felt awful and for some reason, my front legs were throbbing in pain. I had probably locked them up accidentally. "I, Runningstar call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on Bramblepaw. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, despite your disability, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn."

He looked directly at me and I almost cringed as I saw the glitter of greed in his eyes. _Another warrior for his stupid army,_ I thought. But I forced myself to look straight into them without flinching. "Bramblepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Bramblepelt. StarClan honors your mercy and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Runningstar padded forward to rest his muzzle on my head and I licked his shoulder according to age-old tradition. I shuddered in distaste immediately afterward and I think he noticed because his eyes narrowed as I walked away. I awkwardly sat next to Crystalfoot and she warily congratulated me. Runningstar repeated the ceremony, naming Crowpaw Crowstrike. After the few cats that actually knew us gave us their praise, we drifted off to the middle of the clearing. I doubted I would actually see much during the night but I didn't want to be that one warrior that fell asleep during her vigil. But, without knowing it, I slowly nodded off…..

My head jerked up as suddenly a loud screech echoed through the camp. That got me awake enough and I was worried when I saw a dark figure standing near the entrance to the nursery. I was about to yowl out an alarm when my eyesight adjusted and I saw it was just Darkbreeze pacing. His mate, Streamfern must be having kits which would explain the scream I had heard.

I was about to fall asleep again when Mothwind padded out of the nursery, her unusual light blue eyes shining in the moonlight. "Come see your new kits," she mewed to Darkbreeze, whose eyes lit up in relief. He immediately rushed into the nursery and after a few minutes, exited. "Forestkit, Mountainkit, Violetkit, Badgerkit," he kept on muttering under his breath. That must've been the kits' names.

I felt happy for the new birth in the Clan, but also dreaded going back to vigil. I could feel Crowstrike's eyes boring into my back. He hated the feeling of being rejected and not having a love in his life. He hated everything about it. Therefore he hated me.

 **QUOTD: Do you like my writing style? If not, point out the flaws. If so, point out what you like about it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Welcome back to Life of the Rejected: Bramblepelt! New chapter incoming…Yey!**

 **BrightMind: I actually did not think of the fact that disabled cats together would make disabled cats. Huh, I wonder why….As I mentioned in the previous chapter, sometimes I just can't choose who to ship with whom.**

 **tjhorton030800: Thanks so much! I appreciate it :D**

"Hey, wake up." A cold voice interrupted my half-asleep dreams and I blearily lifted my head. I was silent when I saw Crowstrike glaring at me. I sighed. The sun was still barely aglow in the deep dark purple sky. But still, I could see the stars growing dimmer and dimmer until finally, after what seemed like ages, I saw its blindingly white-and-gold shape raising itself over the treetops. Its warm rays began to slowly inch their way across the sandy camp floor.

I let out a sigh of relief as Runningstar padded up to me. He still held that wickedly smug grin from the previous evening and I couldn't help but grimace a little when I saw him twitching his whiskers in amusement at my movement. "Your vigil is now over," he said. I felt tension lifting off of my shoulders as I stiffly shook the sand out of my fur. I gave a small dip of the head to acknowledge Runningstar then dragged myself over to the warriors' den. I had dozed off during my vigil, but I definitely did not feel rested enough to go on the dawn patrol. It was a good thing I had done the dawn patrol the day before or Timberheart would've put me on some kind of morning patrol for sure. He was strict about that kind of stuff for young warriors just off their vigil. "It keeps them healthy and refreshed," he had always said. I smirked to myself. _That idiot, Crowstrike should've taken the chance yesterday,_ I thought. Then I shook my head. He wasn't my friend but that didn't mean I had to call him an idiot. That was childish.

 _Well, so is him cold shouldering you,_ a small voice whispered in my head. I frowned. That was true….Wait, was I talking to myself? But I could've sworn that that was a different voice than my own. I shook my head once again as if to clear out the delusional….other-voice I had heard. I pushed through the brambles of the warriors' den and curled up into an empty, stale-smelling nest close to the entrance. Resting my tail-tip over my nose, I drifted off to sleep.

*****************************************************  
Flowery perfume filled my nose. The world was bright with sunshine. There were little butterflies weaving in and out of sunflowers in this tiny meadow. I looked up in surprise. I had never seen this place before but that didn't necessarily mean I didn't recognize it….I jumped up in excitement when I saw a faint shimmery outline of a cat pouncing on a squirrel in the distance. This must surely be StarClan! Suddenly, my heart dropped in dread. Did that mean I had died in my sleep? Panic clouded my mind and darkness gripped at my heart like a claw. The meadow was becoming fainter and fainter for some reason... _Where am I going?_ I thought and began to frantically claw at the air. "Help!" I yowled desperately, hoping to catch some StarClan warrior's attention. A cat's head poked through a clump of grass in front of me and my heart jumped in hope. Then, I realized….This cat, however confused they were, I had seen….Black messy fur, brown stripe on large triangular ears, _clear amber eyes…._

" _Crowstrike!"_ I screamed as the world was swallowed by pure black darkness. I couldn't see anything. Then I realized that was probably because my eyes were closed. I opened them now though there wasn't much difference between the blackness and this forest I now stood in. The trees, draped in a strange phosphorescent fungus creaked eerily in the non-existent wind and a terrible, rancid scent overlay it all. It was as silent as the doldrums. Nothing existed, nothing mattered. Except me. I was fending for my survival in this nightmare-turned-real. I could feel my paws sweating heavily and wasn't surprised when I saw something suddenly out of the corner of my eye. It didn't help the fear, though. I whipped around, trying to find out what had made that miniscule movement.

There was nothing there, of course. Of course, I was just imagining paranormal activity…. _BAM! HISSS! SCREE!_ Knocked over. I tried to scream, but the breath had been driven out of my lungs when I had fallen. I felt claws, sharp, curved claws that just kept on digging at me like hooks. They were going to kill me, I realized with panic. I tried to move, but I didn't have any strength from all the blood oozing out of my back. It dribbled down my face, flicked onto my ears, and traced their paths onto my stomach. I was covered in blood, spotted in red, drenched in pain. Hot tears streamed down from my eyes onto the cool, dark earth and I managed to take in a big enough gasp of air to cry out, "Stop!" It was pathetic, I know and, as you would expect, they were relentless and kept on clawing.

I got mad. I was being bullied, bullied far worse than I had been by my stupid Clanmates. No, not bullied, tortured. In the power of my anger, I focused my tensed forelegs and did a quick flip, unsheathing my claws and raking them across….empty air. My opponent was gone but I was free. I let out a heavy gust of air and let myself collapse. I was trembling, shaky from blood loss. "Get up, weakling," a strong but cruel female voice said. I felt compelled to obey and complied. Looking through the sheet of dark blood that poured from a cut I had gained on my forehead, probably from my own claws, I saw a stained, ragged orange-and-white pelt. Eyes as bright as the sun and as green as the forest in greenleaf. I cocked my head to one side. Funny, the elders had told me a story about a female villain that had lived a long time ago who matched this exact description….

"What is your name?" I hissed, more sharply and direct than I had intended it to sound. The she-cat gave an ugly grimace, scrunching up what must've been an age-old white circular scar that stretched around the base of her nose to the bridge of her muzzle. "You gonna take that back…..asshole?" she growled in a low voice. I looked up in indignation. Morningpaw had called me that two days ago and she had surely regretted it. "No, I think you better take that back…" I racked my brain for some curses that I had heard some of the elders use around me back in the day "…bitch!" Surprisingly, that struck quite a nerve. I could see some of the fire retract in the she-cat's eyes and her expression grow more resigned, guarded. She hung her head and for some reason, I felt a tiny trace of regret in my heart. What did that word hold for her? I was very curious.

She didn't speak for a long time and I was hoping that I could disappear from this nightmare already when she spoke. "That was a lucky guess, kid," she growled, her voice firm, but less cruel than it had been. "You might make a good adversary in verbal wars-"She smirked. "But you're no good in _real_ battle."

"That's not true!" I retorted. I had just proven my worth to her, hadn't I by escaping? "Sure, it is," she said, beginning to groom her mangled pelt. "You just weasel out of your battles." She paused from licking her paw and turned her sharp green eyes on me. "You're just being nothing more than a cowardly bastard then."

"I'll show you who's a cowardly bastard!" I spat, preparing to stand up and storm off in anger when I realized I had nowhere to go. So, I just awkwardly half-stood, half-sat there. The she-cat chuckled. "You're not going anywhere," she mewed, her voice smooth as silk. "My name's Mapleshade, by the way. The Mapleshade, if you're wondering, the one in the stories and all that." My eyes widened. So that was where I recognized her! "I'm nothing special if I do say so myself. I just have a sob story and killed a couple cats and deserted a Clan. But other than that, I'm just an extremely good fighter that has a knack for teaching vengeance. Much like you, actually minus the killing and deserting." She laughed.

I shrunk back in disgust. I did not want to be compared to this cat. "Over my dead body," I murmured, rolling my eyes. "What was that?" Mapleshade asked, her ears pricked and her eyes sickeningly sweet. "Nothing," I growled. "Someone obviously hasn't been taught their lesson," the ginger-and-white villainess hissed in a suddenly icy cold voice. Before I could blink, I was being torn to shreds once again. I begged and begged for mercy but it wouldn't stop. My hide was torn, broken. It had more cuts than I had ever seen. How was I going to explain this when I woke up? I was heady, light when Mapleshade finally abandoned me, her scratching post. I lay on the ground. "Now, do you want to feel better about yourself or not?" she growled, still sharp.

I nodded weakly and managed to haul myself to a nearby tree where I began to lick my wounds, warily watching Mapleshade's every movement. "So, I know that you've been mistreated lately?" she meowed, her voice soft as ever. "Abused? Disowned? All because of those legs of yours?" I nodded again, still unable to speak. I felt the tears pool in my eyes. Everything came rushing back to me and I could feel myself curl up into a ball and sob. I was humiliated; humbled before this mighty she-cat and I wanted to show her my weaknesses so she would accept me for who I was.

I could feel Mapleshade's presence like a shadow as she hovered over me, stroking me slowly, adding the occasional "It's alright, baby, let it all out" or "It's okay, sweetie". It sickened me but comforted me at the same time. I cried until I could cry no more and only then did Mapleshade start up the conversation again.

"So, do you want to feel better now?" she whispered, softer than ever in my ear. I nodded and whimpered. She straightened and padded away. "Alright then," she said briskly. "Kill for me then." At first, I didn't comprehend the task that had been set before me. Then I slowly got it. I was killing to feel better; "It's just like therapy, you see?" Mapleshade said to me. That beautiful she-cat made me feel like I had a purpose in life. She taught me to murder or as she put it, "I'm teaching you needed self-defense". I loved it. She let me cut into her neck, let the blood fly. She gave me minor Dark Forest warriors to practice on, more to slaughter than practice on. But she kept up the flow of random dark warriors. I guess you could say that I have murdered more dark warriors than I can count, though not for the purpose that you would think.

At the end of the night, as I was very tired, she gave me one last instruction. "Don't practice on your Clanmates now, my child," she said, flicking me on the nose with her tail. I giggled. I was entranced with her. There was no getting out now. "But when you want to, just unleash all fury on them. Have no mercy. Be relentless. If you want, you can bring along Owlfeather." I perked up. "That's good," she said, smiling, her patronizing gaze sweeping across my scarred body. The scars that she had made. "Now go off now, Bramblepelt," she dismissed me. "Mapleshade's got work to do." I happily curled up to sleep at the base of a tree, ignoring the look of pure evil on the she-cat's face.

When I woke up, it was like the worst hangover ever. My pelt ached, my everything ached. I looked over at Crowstrike, who looked just as exhausted for some reason. He was twitching and slightly yelping. For a moment, thoughts of sympathy clouded my blood-driven mind...No warrior would want to sleep in the nests next to him, his nightmares would be too much.. But I chased them away. No grievances, nothing. The only thing I felt was extreme pain, bloodlust combined with revenge, and amorous longing for Owlfeather. Mapleshade made sure of that. I slowly limped out of the back of the warriors' den to wash up as I knew blood would be coating every part of my body. _Good thing nobody is awake or they'd be in for a shock,_ I thought, slightly amused by the thought. But to my surprise, when I looked at my reflection in the stream, I wasn't even marred. So, I just decided to take a drink of water instead.

I sat down and gazed into the stream. Hadn't I just been beaten and torn apart in my dreams? _In your dreams,_ that little voice echoed in my mind. I shrugged my shoulders. At least my Clan wouldn't suspect anything for now. As I turned around, though, I spied something shiny in the stream. At first, I thought it was solid then I realized it was a drop of liquid. A dark blood stream was dripping down my neck, a deep cut close to my throat the source of the sticky liquid. I gave a huff of annoyance. That thing looked like it would always be fresh. "Sly bitch won't ever leave me alone," I muttered under my breath as I turned away from the stream and padded off to hunt.

 **A/N: Holy shazam, I used a whole lot more cursing than I thought I would in this chapter! Oh, whale.**

 **QUOTD: Why do you think Mapleshade gave Bramblepelt just one fresh wound instead of tearing up her entire body?**


	7. Chapter 7

_There was one time that I came to my senses. The night I found out about it all._

 _It was a new moon. The night was completely dark. I had been pondering everything I had been doing for the past moons. My neck and left foreleg was completely dried dark brown, painted a fresh bright red every day with a fresh stream of blood. It made me feel light-headed, but by this time, I had figured out how to ignore it._

 _It was nights like these that made me think. The clear dark, the nothingness, nothing blinded by the blood running into my eyes….I shuddered. I decided to take a walk to a rock in a hidden cove that I had found with Owlfeather. I pushed out of the camp entrance and shied away instinctively when a bramble grazed my bloody gash. I sat on the rock and smiled as I gazed up at the empty sky. If only I could've taken Owlfeather out here, he would've enjoyed looking at StarClan with me…._

 _All of a sudden, a seizure gripped me. I began to spasm in pain. I banged my jaw against the cold stone and yowled in pain as my teeth were jarred. I began to roll madly, uncontrollably. Something was controlling me, something dark, darker even than the night sky above me. I saw a flash of green eyes in my throbbing vision and I immediately knew: Mapleshade was reprimanding me. But it was more awful than anything the villainess had done to me. At least, I knew that it was some outer force tearing me apart with its own strength, not some cat dangling me by the strings like a puppet and making me tear myself apart.  
And then I realized with dread. That must be exactly what was happening to me. The fog cleared; it all made sense now. The cut on my forehead had been healed and the blood no longer poured into my eyes. I whispered into the silence, "You're just controlling me, aren't you?"  
Then the veil was dropped over my eyes once again. I stopped jerking and foaming at the mouth and it was normal once again. "I am loyal," I cried out into the night. "I am loyal to the Dark Forest! LOYAL!" I then threw my head back and screamed, howled, agonizing, painful, breaking the night._

 _Once a guard dog, always a guard dog. Never a wild bear._

 _Once a servant of the Dark Forest, always a servant of the Dark Forest._

 _Never a believer in StarClan._


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Welcome back, my smol children or Gemskies! I took a bit of a hiatus on this story because of technical difficulties.

Pikawarriorcat: Indeed he is xD Personally, I think this would never happen in real life, but the call of a writer beckons drama. Aww, thank ya! Did you mean the...pros and cons of breathing? Sorry, I'm Fall Out Boy trash, I'll just throw myself out the window now.

Pikawarriorcat: I know what ya mean lel

* * *

"The cats going to the Gathering tonight are Timberheart, Duststorm, Larkpetal, Jayheart, Darkbreeze, Nightfur, Frostpaw, Sedgepaw, Bramblepelt, Owlfeather, Crystalfoot, and Poppyfall," Runningstar called out to his Clan from the Highrock. I grimaced at the sound of his voice and forced myself to not shoot a burning glare at the tabby tom.

"What's wrong, my love?" Owlfeather asked in a genuinely concerned voice, rubbing his head against my shoulder, making me smile. I licked his ear affectionately in return. Rumors had already spread about our love, so why hide it? Even the kits born a half moon ago knew about it. I was just hoping to have a family, get exiled from this horrid Clan (though how I didn't know yet), and live happily together, a fairy tale version of Mapleshade's tale, where she ran off alone, despairing and died. We would live. I grinned, feeling a warm glow spread through my chest. The future was bright, indeed.

Suddenly, I felt Owlfeather poking at my side with his golden paw. "It's like you're dreaming about StarClan or something," he murmured in my ear jokingly. I couldn't help but shudder. StarClan. That stupid cluster of stars had yet to forget about my commitment to Mapleshade. But it didn't make sense to not listen to her. She told me what I liked and it was logical. I shook out my fur, ridding myself of the chill. I followed Owlfeather to the camp entrance, pushing through the brambles and trying to keep my mind on the tasks at hand.

We padded on through the forest until we reached the gorge where we turned to see a wooden Twoleg structure that gave way to RiverClan territory. At one point, a RiverClan patrol passed by. Even though the conflict between the two Clans had long since been resolved, Swiftfang sneered at me as I stumbled on a knot in the wooden structure, his eyes flaming with contempt. I ignored him, focusing on Owlfeather instead; I couldn't be distracted by some jealous RiverClan warrior. I had bigger prey to chew on, namely Runningstar and Crowstrike. That stupid tom would have to be put in my place. I wasn't sure why I had this strong desire to knock him out particularly. Maybe because he had been my only friend and lately he had been denying all contact to me?

Soon enough, we reached a huge clearing with towering trees and leafy undergrowth spilling out onto sandy ground. I relaxed as soon as we reached the peaceful clearing. It must be the truce that gets me this relaxed, isn't it? I thought, glancing around and nodding. Even though StarClan were vile, it didn't mean I couldn't hold their sacred customs.

I immediately went over to a group of my best friends that were out of my Clan: Bluepaw, Thornpaw, and Lightningpaw of WindClan. I dragged myself over to them and ignored their gaping as they realized that Crowstrike was nowhere near me. "Hey, where's Skypaw?" I asked, noticing that the medicine cat apprentice was not around. My three friends looked at each other and giggled. "She's not Skypaw anymore," Bluepaw chuckled. "She's Skyleap and I'm Blueshine, Lightningpaw is Lightningfeather, and Thornpaw is Thornstorm. We got our warrior names a little bit after last Gathering."

"Ah, so I guess Skyleap's with Sparrowlight now since she's so professional now," I meowed, not looking at the saddened faces of my friends. Then Lightningfeather spoke up. "Sparrowlight is….dead." I recoiled back in grief. I sighed and looked at my paws. "She was a grand medicine cat that we will all miss," Thornstorm said, easing up the tension of the silence. "It was especially hard for Skyleap so she stayed at camp."

"So WindClan has no medicine cat present tonight?" I asked warily, knowing that this would make my friends uneasy and maybe even aggressive. But I wanted to know if they were really my friends, if they would share personal knowledge about their own Clans.

"Oh, well, I suppose," Lightningfeather said slowly then changed the subject. "I saw you all pressed up to Owlfeather when you came in. What are you doing mooning over a young warrior?" She smiled mischievously, thinking she had put me in a tight spot. I grinned.

"Well, I'm not Bramblepaw anymore," I announced. "I'm Bramblepelt!" We both cheered each other in our own mini Clan meeting. Suddenly, I noticed Dawnstar climbing onto the Great Beech Branch, a thick branch that grew off a massive beech tree at the head of the clearing. It was big enough for two cats to sit on, so the four leaders took turns announcing Clan news.

"Come on," I whispered. "It's time for the leaders to speak." We separated into our own Clans and I quickly sat beside Owlfeather. Dawnstar was quick with her announcements, telling the Clans that RiverClan was well managed and that they had "recovered", she had said with a sharp glare towards ThunderClan.

I didn't even flinch. It was a battle well worthwhile at least for RiverClan. ThunderClan had suffered its foolishness with the death of Whiteash. Then Wildstar, the leader of WindClan announced that Sparrowlight had died but didn't announce that Skyleap was still at camp, so as not to make his Clan appear vulnerable.

He quickly said that Skyleap had been named and also Blueshine, Thornfeather, and Lightningfeather. We cheered then settled down as Russetstar, the proudest leader of the bunch stepped forward. She wasn't very aggressive, only occasionally falsely claiming stolen prey and sweeping her gaze across the other three Clans.

But we were used to the dark ginger leader's complaints. Nearly always what she said was wrong, one of the main reasons that ShadowClan had not had a battle in ages. Nobody took her seriously and I almost pitied her for that. After that, Runningstar made his announcements and I had the chance to glare deeply at him without anyone noticing it.

After that, the Clans split up and we shared tongues together. Since it was a hot, quite dry night, we left quickly and the Gathering was over. So far, it had been a peaceful night, not very exciting, but still calm enough for me to like it.

I then thought forward to my future, where I would rip and tear through my camp like furious wildfire. Then I realized a different meaning of my name. I am Bramblepelt, a thorn in the paw to get rid of. The harder you pull at me, I dig deeper, deeper until you can FEEL MY RAW PAIN.


End file.
